Huawei Technologies is a world leading information and communications technology solutions provider. Huawei's solutions have been deployed in over 140 countries, by over 500 operators, and are currently connecting around one-third of the world's population to telecommunications and broadband services.
Yet, for purported "national security" reasons, Huawei has been precluded by certain governments in certain instances from competing for certain projects or making select acquisitions, as most-recently highlighted in the context of the Australian National Broadband Network (NBN) roll-out, but more notably in a string of incidents in the U.S. dating back to 2008.
Barring Huawei from projects means less competition, less industry-wide innovation, less choice for telecommunications operators, more expensive networks, and pricier broadband services for consumers.
At the heart of the so-called national security concerns is the fact that Huawei is based in China.
Swirling around this fundamental fact - for the better part of the last decade - have been numerous universally-unsubstantiated allegations, innuendo, myth and untruths about Huawei, often as not encouraged by Huawei's global competitors.
But, the only demonstrable fact - for whatever political or other reasons of some concern - is that Huawei is based in China.
So what about the competition?
Due to the global market-based realities that have evolved over the last 10-15 years, Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia-Siemens, Motorola, Cisco and virtually all other major ICT venders are also heavily investing, conducting research and development, coding software, manufacturing product and supporting tens of thousands of jobs in China.
What is it about Huawei that makes it different? Just the Chinese heritage? After all, no other concern has ever been validated. Ever. Indeed, if all such concerns remain unsubstantiated, then governments are seemingly driving less competition, less innovation, less choice, more expensive networks, and pricier broadband services for their citizens.
That said, given the history (if nothing's been proven over the last ten years it's unlikely to happen now), let's assume that the decade of myth and innuendo will remain nothing more than that and turn our attention to more fully addressing the "Chinese product" concern.
Governments - politicians, policy-makers, regulators, legislators - that are contemplating mechanisms to block so-called Chinese companies from their ICT sectors (or elements thereof) should at the very least conduct such contemplation in the context of a full and public review and understanding of all of the facts and their implications.
How might we achieve this? Simple. If "Chinese product" are a concern, then every ICT vender should publicly disclose and detail and answer questions related to their global operations, worldwide supply chains, operations in China, as well as (while we're at it) their security practices and disciplines.
Notably, half of this information is on the public record (if seemingly unnoticed). Why would anyone object?
Bottom line: National security concerns are real - for any country. Telecommunications network and critical infrastructure protection are vital national and international challenges, as is protecting sensitive government and commercial information. True, honest and effective solutions to meeting these challenges will only be realized with all of the facts on the table.
The facts are that all of these companies are global, rely on the same global supply chains, and the same global ICT supplier and partner ecosystems - they share the same potential vulnerabilities. This is undeniable.
Once the facts are understood, once it is acknowledged that every ICT vender is a globalized company, including with significant R&D, coding and production in China (and in the U.S., for those who might harbor such concerns), then the conversation about "national" security concerns can turn in a more rational, fact-based, global solution-oriented direction.
Why would anyone object?
Full disclosure (in case you hadn't gathered): I work for Huawei.
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